Hadith Explanation

Revenge

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Musa (alaihis salam) asked Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), ‘My Lord! Which one is the dearest to You among Your creatures?’ Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) said, ‘The one who has the power to take revenge, yet forgives.’” [Mishkat]

To forgive is a divine attribute. Nobody is more powerful than Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and able to exact retribution, yet no one is more forbearing and forgiving than Him.

If somebody came to my house, started insulting me, misusing my property, and disregarding my feelings, how long would I allow them to stay? This is how we behave with regard to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). We deny Him, insult Him, disregard His injunctions, all the while living on His planet, yet we don’t hear that “so-and-so fell off the earth today.” Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) puts up with us, giving us time and a chance to change.

He who desires to take revenge is entitled to, without exceeding what was done to him. If he is powerless to take revenge in his life he may do so on the Day of Judgement. On that Day each person will get the good deeds of the person who did them an injustice or owed them anything (be it good behaviour). If the oppressor has no good deeds left to give, then the bad deeds of the oppressed will get loaded onto him, in proportion to what he owed them.

It is one thing to not take revenge in life because one is powerless to do so. It takes a character of much greater magnanimity to forgive when one has the power to exact revenge. Since Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is ever willing to overlook our faults and forgive us if we repent, to become beloved to Him we need to practice the same in our relationships with His creatures. To err is human, but to forgive … is divine.